


Naruto Zero Plus...

by Valentine20xx



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern: Still Have Powers, Alternate Universe - Naruto Pilot, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-05
Updated: 2019-08-21
Packaged: 2020-08-09 21:48:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20124364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Valentine20xx/pseuds/Valentine20xx
Summary: It's an uncommonly known aspect of Naruto lore, the original story, where Naruto is travelling to prove to the village elder that he can make a real friend, and loses his first opportunity. However, Kishimoto never wrote the next chapter of that story. So, I bring you Chapter Zero... Plus a few.Let's see how far we can take the original concept...





	1. Race Along The Waves: The Longest Journey...

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: The Naruto Pilot © Masashi Kishimoto, Naruto © Shonen Jump. I do not own either, and this is written well within fair use guidelines.
> 
> About this idea: A uncommonly known fact is that Naruto originally had a manga which acted as a pilot, Kishimoto's attempt to sell his new idea, and protagonist, to a publisher. In that, Naruto was a lonely orphan in a village hidden away from civilization, who is banished with the simple goal of making friends and proving an old man wrong. When it was seen by the people working for Viz Comics, they found Naruto to be a good fit for a similar concept, turning it into a world lost in the feudal era, and the latest generation of a centuries old feud, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha.  
This changed the dynamic of the series, for the worst, changing it from a fish-out-of-water story of a young kitsune boy dealing with the modern world's problems, and his own, to a world seemingly teetering constantly on the brink of all-out war, with a narrative that focused on combat, in a parallel to Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball. Focus was drawn away from Kishimoto's own slate of characters towards the other two main characters, Sasuke and Sakura, created by editorial mandate rather than Kishimoto's plan.  
Over time, there was undue emphasis placed on Sasuke and Sakura, with whole arcs being dedicated to Sasuke and the Uchiha, and an early idea planted in many reader's heads that Naruto had feelings for Sakura, and very quickly, the fanbase heavily favoured Naruto with Sakura, which was never Kishimoto's intention, having created in his pitch documents the character of Hinata Hyuga, who had been planned as Naruto's girlfriend, but both Naruto and Hinata were portrayed in a way that ensured very few fans expected it to work.  
During the Chunin Exams, there was a rather blatant attempt to put on a bus Hinata, as well as Kishimoto's favourite girl, Tenten, Kishimoto writing them to survive while writing out Sasuke, but the damage had been done, and was irrecoverable for the manga as is. Kishimoto's idea may never be known fully, and what little there is of it is persistently considered omake territory and an alternate universe, Word Of God being ignored. This story, however, tries to reconcile what Kishimoto was thinking of way back at the beginning of Naruto, without Sasuke or Sakura, and the only references to the Uchiha being as antagonists.  
I will admit to using personal preferences at times, but again, I can't exactly pick Kishimoto's brain for what was and wasn't his idea. At the start of some chapters, I will put a Canon References note, which explains what I am planning with this arc, without going into specifics. Oh yes, and the dedication below...  
If you don't understand it, you don't know your anti-heroes.  
And if you do, You know exactly what it means.
> 
> Canon References: The first storyline arc, Race Across The Waves, obviously, is based on the Wave Country arc, reimagined as a biker's paradise created by Gato to profit off the gambling rights to the near-endless races, with anyone who tries to topple his empire just ending up with them disabled for life, if not worse. I use this concept to give something that Naruto could get involved in, that is also exciting and interesting to write about. Most other options would not be half as intriguing.

**Dedicated To Bruce and David Banner, The Original 'Lonely Man'**

_Wave Country Police Department Criminal Records_  
Name: Gato  
Alias: No other aliases known.

_A former race promoter, he was disgraced when it was found only racers he sponsored were guaranteed to 'podium finish', with extortion and death threats used to make sure that independent racers accepted the 'generous' terms of Gato's sponsorship contracts, not noticing that almost everything they spent their winnings on, right down to the 'recommended' tools and parts suppliers, was a shell company for Gato. It was claimed, quite rightly, that Gato never lost a single yen that he used to bankroll his promotions, getting them back with interest instead._

_Within weeks of arriving in Wave Country, he set up one of his biggest racing promotions ever, creating a motorcycle racing mecca. At first, it was hugely successful, with the only dubious aspect being that Gato quietly bought out most of the businesses that the riders would regularly use. Then the Black Riders arrived, all of them racers who thrived under his sponsorship, and carried out many of his encouragement of other racers, and quickly Gato was earning back as much as he spent, with only the Black Riders keeping any money they made._

_A police investigation was began, which found was that Gato was back to his old tricks, even profiting immensely from one of his shell companies taking over everything from the repair garages to the gas pumps. There was an estimate that Gato owned over two thirds of Wave Country's economy. Shortly before they were able to take it to court, the officers who did the investigation were caught in a suspicious crash, with their car's engine catching fire and immolating everything inside. The supposedly independent investigation found no issues._

_As of then, the police have discreetly observed from outside an invisible boundary, not wanting to chance more fatalities just to confirm if anything of the investigation remained. The local police chief however posted a 25,000 yen reward for anything that could bring Gato down, and a 1,000 yen reward for every Black Rider brought to justice, which increased as time passed. So far, none of the money has been paid out, and it's generally accepted that it never will, but the threat remained to keep Gato within Wave._

* * *

Naruto looked up as he arrived at the turning for Wave Country, having been suggested to go there by a local motorcycle rider. He wasn't to know about the history of the area, or the fact his bike's registration plate was photographed by an undercover police car, or the pretty chinese girl inside who checked a list, added it to the bottom in pencil, then went back to listening to the car radio. He was too busy thinking about how badly his first few weeks outside of his home village had gone.  
The murder of the painter had ruined what he'd felt was a good start, as he'd been forced to leave the area fairly quickly in case he was investigated for other things. What he'd learned in the interim period was that he'd likely miscalculated on what old man Sarutobi was looking for, as he noticed groups of people in a very distinct and obvious pattern. A young man and a young woman, sometimes with children nearby. When he'd started his journey, he'd just looked for a friend who would be similar to him, but maybe it wasn't that which he needed...

However, there were very few couples on the coastal road he was driving down. Instead, there were bikes. Lots of bikes. Bikes that cost several times the implied price of his little scooter, in outfits that were much better designed for riding. He took a break at a roadside store, picking up some supplies, accepting the offer of a bed and some earplugs, bikes heading down towards the bridge to the nearby islands. However, the following morning, he looked out of the window to see the smashed and still burning remains of his scooter.  
"What the hell?!" Naruto exclaimed, for the shop owner to walk up to him.  
"Don't expect to catch the guy who torched your bike," The old man offered, "I called the police observation post, let them know to cross it off, but that's all they can do. The last police officer to come handle law around here left with a broken arm and a very low opinion on the local riders,"  
"So, Why exactly did someone come torch my scooter?" Naruto asked, "It's nearly a day's walk back to the last town..."  
"It's only a day's walk. They did it to discourage you from continuing," The old man stated, "About two thirds of those bikes that went past earlier, before the week's out, will have been destroyed and/or their riders will have an accident that has an ambulance take them back out through another route, also known locally as the Road Of Shame... Sometimes, the bikes can be salvaged for parts... Sometimes the riders even live..."  
"You seem to know a lot about it for a shopkeeper..." Naruto observed.  
"This here is the Last Chance General Store, and acts as an unofficial, of course, admissions centre for the Race Across The Waves..." The old man declared with a hollow laugh, "I got the name since, a couple of hundred metres that-a-way is where those riders get into a race with the local 'Highway Patrol'. You finish that race by parking up in a garage spot, you lose by crashing. The bike is picked up, junked, then you turn up a day or two later back where you started, tossed in a dumpster, or maybe, if you do really well, they might admit you into a hospital..."  
He then paused, wiping down the counter, considering something.  
"That's just the start. You hit the road on your bike, well, if the lights go red against you, best be ready for a race," He sighed, looking down at a picture of a young man stood next to a motorbike, "My son learned about it the hard way. He got himself a brand new Kawasaki, tuned it to what he felt was perfection. Was one of the few times the ambulance went down the entrance road… He barely made it,"  
"So, he told you about how it is in Wave?" Naruto asked.  
"Yup, sat there with a couple of police officers, Iruka Umino and Ibiki Morino, and told them everything. Was all he could do, since he was on borrowed time," The old man offered, "Was lucid enough into his last days that he actually was the one who gave them authorisation to pull the plug on his life support… His bike was fine, managed to get it back when they auctioned it off, but well..."  
He then took two items out from under the counter, one being a stack of bank notes, the other being a set of keys.  
"You've got two choices, kid, neither of them acceptable. You can take some money, get into town and forget this sorry mess..." The man stated, pausing before he added, "Or you can take his old bike, and go make those son-of-a-bitches pay,"  
"I don't plan to run. Look, I don't think what's going on is exactly legal. Yeah, Sure, a racer's town might be a good place for people like your son to meet like-minded people, and sounds like I'd have fun in one, but when you have people like the punk that trashed my ride just because it's not some beast tuned till the engine screams..." Naruto sighed, picking up the keys, then, after a pause, the bank notes as well, since he'd need money, "What else can you tell me about how it is in there?"  
"OK, It's your funeral..." The old man offered, getting a bundle of leather out from under the counter, "These used to belong to my son, They should fit you… He gave me two things. A really battered 8-ball, and some information, when he was conscious enough to talk. Told me to 'look for the snow queen', and that she was 'for the riders'. Guy also said something about a strange guy with weird eyes and a sharp suit meeting with Gato. I don't have a clue what he's getting at. Ain't nothing except people in biker leathers gone down that road for a while now…"  
"Thanks..." Naruto replied, heading towards the bathroom, studying the 8-ball he'd found in the pocket, "Wonder what this is about?"  
Shedding his trashed clothes, he dressed in the biker's leathers, pocketing the ball, before heading out to meet with the old man.  
"I'm going to make a bet with you right now, old man..." Naruto stated, "I bet you the value of what's in that bundle of ryo, that next time you see me, I'll be riding out of Wave, my job done..."  
"I'll raise ya… You come out of there with proof the Snow Queen and all that other crap my son said was genuine… You can name your price," The man stated, watching him leave, as a dark-haired figure on a lavender and purple motorbike drove up, the rider getting off, the man noticing her toss a set of fake plates in a nearby bin. Cuing up his own security camera, he snapped the plates, planning to send them to the monitoring post later. No-one honest went by the monitoring post on fakes.  
"What do ya want?" He asked, for her to smile.  
"To make you an offer..." She stated, "No-one really uses this store any more..."  
"So, You're going to deal with Gato..." She stated, smiling, before she headed off after him. Oh. she expected to see the boy who had just left to come back the king of Wave, She wouldn't even be here if she didn't. But she knew that the punks who trashed the scooter would be back here when they traced Naruto's first bike's origins, to remind the old man to stop poking his nose where it didn't belong.

A few hours later, a police car arrived at the store, the driver cursing.  
"So, Is your wayward target still there?" Sgt Might asked on their radio, the driver cursing.  
"We just missed her, and taking a car into Wave costs too much... and that's if the car gets back out in a usable state," She muttered, "Dammit! If it wasn't for the old man sending us the right plates, we'd have been here earlier! I said those plates were dodgy!"  
"Don't ask me..." The other person in the car stated, "We'll just wait for her, and hopefully will catch her coming back out… Last cops to go past this store, their brakes got cut and they were almost killed..."  
The girl, Tenten, entered the store, noticing a napkin tucked under a broken lottery machine, a very odd place to put it, especially when it had a series of numbers on it. Checking the numbers on it, she made a phone call, getting a call a few days later stating that she had to tell them where she got her numbers from, since they were likely going to make her, again, very rich.  
She now knew why their target, one Hinata Hyuga, the cousin of her partner, had gone into an area with active police surveillance. She wanted Tenten and Neji to be there. Just that one fact made her shut off the engine for their car, drain the fuel tank and take out the battery. Until they needed to go in, they had to make sure the car was not destroyed. Yes, Hinata was paranoid, yes, but she was almost always right...

Naruto noted the looks he got as he entered town. He'd avoided the punks who had destroyed his scooter by only travelling at night, guessing quite rightly that even they needed to sleep. He noticed what the old man meant as he observed several black bikes heading through the entrance after he'd already hidden his bike, for them to come back a short time later, giving each other high fives.  
"Another idiot bites the dust..." One of them gloated, "Like the boss says… 'We have enough idiots, don't let anyone else in...', so, what do we do?"  
"Trash them and bag them!" The others cheered. Ignoring them, realising the real reason why his scooter was trashed. They'd hit some unknown quota. Naruto watched a nearby large video screen, where a woman was reading something built into her desk.

_In Southern Wave, Zabuza's Kamen Rider is looking at his fourth straight win as he comes in with another record lap time. In the Coastal Sea Run, Greased Lightning has managed to get a respectable third in an incredibly close run race, while the Spinning Pinwheel may well take the top spot in the Northern circuit!_

"So, When do you bet the Momochi boy is gonna lose? I'm thinking he won't manage a fifth win..." A man muttered nearby.  
"I don't know… He's one of the few pro riders who hasn't had a bike fall apart due to bad maintenance, since Zabuza owns that big freaking truck… Admittedly, Anyone who tries to use mechanics who live in town is asking for it..." The other man replied, "Hell, I don't think he's actually permanently lost a single bike..."  
Naruto sighed. He didn't expect it to be that bad, that the mechanics were crooked as much as the man who had turned an industrialised island chain into a racing nirvana, but it was a corrupt town, and he was here to fix it. And maybe find someone who could come with him back to the village, after a very generous detour.  
"So, Where do you think I'm going to find a reputable garage?" He asked the two men, who laughed.  
"Tell ya what… I'll sponsor you, and keep whatever piece of junk you slipped past the guards on the road, don't tell me you didn't, maybe even help upgrade it," The man who had been talking about the mechanics offered, "Penalty is, every rank below 1st you get, I take 5% of your winnings, so, you end up at the back, well… You don't get jack. You win, I take what the league gives me… It's the rules, kid. I have to pay the rent, same as anyone else..."  
"So, If I do shit at the racing, I get nothing, but if I win, I take the pot?" Naruto asked.  
"Course, keep yourself away from anything black, if you catch my drift, or we'll both be losing money… If I hadn't got caught out by that, I'd be doing more than just sponsoring some fool..." The man grumbled, getting up as he retrieved a walking cane from beside himself, "First things first is we head for the Western Reaches, it's a good newbie run, other than the Garage Run, which you're good to have skipped out on considering, and it only has one major Black Rider..."  
"And Zabuza congratulates his protege as he wins another race, narrowly avoiding a crash at the last minute!" The announcer declared, His new sponsor wincing as they replayed the moment, Naruto noting one of the bikes that was totalled had been black. Whoever this Kamen Rider was, he'd clearly been about to have a 'career-ending' incident, but they'd avoided it completely. Clearly, the talk of how people didn't win very many races was because almost every race had someone there to make sure they lost. This was not racing. This was a blood sport, and Naruto now knew that he had to take part to solve all of this...  
Because otherwise, it would only get worse...


	2. The Fall Of The Kamen Rider

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Kamen Rider © Shotaro Ishimori/Toei Corporation, and is used without permission.  
Except the Kamen Rider, and a certain girl, all other racers are 'faceless', and won't get much development. The Black Riders are mostly anonymous. Haku's disguised racing identity, Kamen Rider, is a tribute to one of Tokusatsu's finest franchises. For that reason, and that reason alone, their retirement will be a blaze of glory, since I have a massive amount of respect for the Kamen Rider franchise.
> 
> Canon References Note: The bridge in the Western Reaches is what became the Great Naruto Bridge in canon, and the Demon Brothers are reimagined as the riders that Naruto has to deal with to clean up the area.  
Also, due to the nature of this universe, Zabuza is given a boon through trying to earn money legitimately, being Haku's promoter.

_Name: Haku Yuki-Momochi  
Alias: The Kamen Rider  
_ _An elite rider from Mist Country, Her family were killed by radicalists. She was adopted by Zabuza Momochi, and rode as the Kamen Rider, using padded race attire to hide her gender.  
_ _When Gato took control of Wave's races, she decided to become a hero for those who raced honestly, and the Kamen Rider became a local legend..._

The Western Reaches were a mostly uninhabited section of Wave. It was dotted with several unfinished housing developments that had been modified into part of some of the multiple race tracks that were based around the area. The major feature in the area was an unfinished bridge, which had been modified into a bike parking area, the old man sighing as he saw what it had become.  
"That bridge was what was originally going to save Wave… Then Gato chased off anyone who tried to either get the bikers to stop parking in the superstructure or even continue it," The man sighed, "Name's Tazuna, by the way..."  
"Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki." He replied, "So, What did you do before this became the norm for Wave?"  
"I was the foreman in charge of building the bridge and helping out with the town that was going to be the stop off point, but the money ran out when a group of punk bikers came along and harassed the workers," Tazuna explained, sighing, "Nothing's been done with the construction since,"  
"So, What happened to the punks that ran you off your job?" Naruto asked.  
"Gato swept in. He offered to modify the traffic management in 'selected areas', promising to compensate anyone inconvenienced by them..." Tazuna stated.  
"Right..." Naruto snarked, "Doesn't look very selective..."  
"Well, the younger generation got tempted by the lure of easy money, people started betting, The promise of only using selected areas got broken…" Tazuna continued, slumping, "Now every road on the island is one of Gato's tracks, and each island is it's own league..."  
"Explains why the traffic lights are more like race lights..." Naruto mused, "What about the promise of compensating anyone who didn't get involved in the gambling and the races?"  
"Lost to embezzlement, when the people who were working on it disappeared due to poking too much into Gato's accounting..." Tazuna replied, sighing, before shaking his head, "Let's leave that, and discuss the league in this area. Since you came in here alone, you're not going to meet Gato's main pair of goons,"  
"Oh, why is that?" Naruto asked, confused. Seemed like there was some measure of control.  
"The Demon Brothers are the kings of Tandem Racing," Tazuna stated, "Races in this area only start attracting them when you are in a team. No partner, No broken bike. You race singles, well, you're not going to get trashed, if you know what I mean..."  
"And if I wanted to do these… tandem races?" Naruto asked.  
"How fast do you want to get killed, kid?" Tazuna exclaimed.  
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.  
"I can guarantee you that you'll never find a single racer who'd want to give you more than fourth place overall, and almost half the racers in this circuit who run tandem races fight over who gets last place in the most convincing way. Well, like most Black Riders, the Demon Brothers are liberal with their anger..."  
"Their anger?" Naruto asked.  
"The Demon Brothers have scored first or second every time for one of them, and no lower than sixth for the other. The only time they even score second though is when the Black Mamba and their partner the King Cobra are racing, and they occupy first and third, and usually the Demon Brothers get second and fourth." He explained.  
"What the hell? So, pretty much no-one's placing podium?!" Naruto stated, "That's stupid..."  
"They NEVER occupy any other slots. If you notice those two black bikes on the track, you don't race your best... since no racer tries to get 1st place with a black bike there. I've seen many a bike get trashed because they lost count of the number of blacks on the track..." Tazuna continued.  
"So, If there's a black racer on the track, you pretty much play 'How convincing can I fake my bike breaking down', or they'll break it for you?" Naruto asked, before cursing, "That's not racing! That's stroking the egos of the punks who Gato handed the roads to in the first place!"  
"That's been the rules of the road for years around here..." Tazuna sighed, "I can see the Kamen Rider ending up like a previous guy who bucked the trend… Neither the bike nor the rider finished the race. The city coroner gets a lot of business since Gato took control..."

Several miles away, a slim figure put away a pair of binoculars, thumbing the control for their bike's radio transceiver.  
"You sure? A Hyuuga?… Lavender and purple bike… OK… and there's another Hyuuga parked up at Last Chance?" They replied, "Get one of my body doubles to do my next race, probably that dip shit who felt me up, will remind people not to do it on the team. Use that piece of shit you want crushed, and tell them that you paid of all the black balls…"  
They paused, waiting for the tirade to finish. "Yes, I know they'll kill them, but… I'll be out of town for a couple of days. I have a parcel to deliver to the police officers outside..." They continued, "Good idea, they'll cap you the moment they figure out we switched… Got a mark in mind, his current rider is a suicide pact waiting to happen, The idiot is planning to run up black balls like a bar tab,"  
This Hyuuga sneaking into Gato's territory gave them the perfect opportunity. And they knew the Black Riders would be busy elsewhere, just by having their body double poke their head out. Somewhere, a pool hall would be mighty annoyed with the Black Riders, if they went by how many pock-marked black balls were in their pockets.

A few hours later, Gato paced in his office as he cued up a recording on the large screen, looking at the group of men and women in the office. For the past hour, none of the race areas had Black Riders.  
"And the Kamen Rider goes out in a blaze of glory..." The recorded news announcer stated, "A sudden fire overtook the elite racer in their most recent race, as their bike's engine developed a fault which caused it to catch fire. They refused to let it get to them, with one of the first cases of a racer caught in an accident both finishing the race and coming in first place! Kamen Rider's manager posthumously accepted the trophy, stating that it is the first and only case in recent history of a straight 1st place placing for an independent racer!"  
"So, Care to explain to me what the hell went wrong?!" Gato snapped, "And use small words, clearly some of you have some brain cells missing, since the Kamen Rider played us for fools!"  
"They substituted practically everything, mocked up the Kamen Rider's bike, put a fake in the saddle..." The leader of the Black Riders stated, "Hell, for all we know, they skipped town. Bloody security team were too busy watching the race. Turns out the real Kamen Rider had found out about a glitch in the sensor system. Literally, the guy with the most black balls on the circuit, still alive, wasn't even present for their lynching... and, even worse, they pretty much ensured their legendary status is cemented. The one rider who beat the balls..."  
"So, you didn't even kill the RIGHT Kamen Rider?!" Gato snapped, looking up as one of the security staff ran in, with a set of pictures.  
"Sir, There was a police car at Last Chance. We checked the security camera there. Someone handed them a box binder and left, and they opened it, seemed to rifle through it, then were out of there like a scalded cat." One of the security staff stated, "Oh yes, something about what they got out when they were looking… A video tape."  
"You SWORE you wiped all the tapes that implicated the riders!" Gato snapped, "I want you to go find Zabuza. If he has any riders in his garage that look like they might be Kamen Rider, kill them, and blow Zabuza's knee caps out. Any bikes… Donate to the local garages, I'm feeling charitable."  
"Zabuza drove his mobile garage out of town just after picking up his winnings, and is heading away pretty damn fast…" One of the people observing the area stated, "You'd almost think..."  
"He was just waiting for the race to finish..." Gato growled, "How much did we lose?"  
"Considering he was the only legitimate race promoter to actually get paid..." His assistant stated, "Several million... And that's before we get into how people will react to the fact their hero beat the system clean..."

While Gato was despairing, Naruto was busy poring over rulebooks ready to head off out onto the roads.  
"Tandem Races involve 10 teams of two racers who battle to earn as high a ranking as possible for one or both of their team," Naruto read.  
"It's pretty lucrative, if you're the Demon Brothers or one of their cronies..." Tazuna offered, "Original rules went 10 for first and second, 9 for third and fourth. Then 8, 7, 6… If your co-rider did well enough, you could beat first place with the minimum fuss..."  
Naruto looked up the entry on scoring, frowning. The first place and second place ranking were now 10 and 9, with it going down 1 point for each ranking, instead of every other ranking, and, when it reached 11th place, it had -1, continuing to decrease until 20th place nullified any rank you'd earned, being -10.  
"And the Demon Brothers never get less than 15..." Naruto mused, "And I bet that somehow, they're able to make sure no-one gets 16 or above, ever… Maybe even guarantee it somehow. As you say, their 'anger',"  
"The more legal ways are that you're not allowed to pit except in the start area, and the race won't exactly stop for you to deal with it," Tazuna admitted, "There used to be an allowance to do more, but Gato stated that it was logistically difficult..."  
He then paused, before adding, "Almost half of every team has at least one really bad 'mechanical fault' before the end of the race. Admittedly, most of them aren't faults, it's the weight of the black ball they got slipped last time they were in the top four..."  
"Like this one?" Naruto asked, taking out the pock-marked ball he'd got off the old man.  
"Yep..." Tazuna sighed, "Get 5th place or above in any race, the race organizer walks up to you and hands you one, with a nice note signed by Gato about how he'll be watching you. You trash the black riders, even accidentally, you get another one. The only way to get rid of them, blow the race."  
"How does that work? Point for every place you drop in the ranks?"  
"If only… It's scored on that every non-black rider who doesn't finish due to your very convincing accident, you get a ball taken off your total. Of course, you're not included," Tazuna stated, "Guaranteeing that really scared riders will throw the race for practically the entire grid..."  
"So, they basically use these things to sculpt a perfect racing paradise for those who will take Gato's colours, furthering his control over the situation in the country," Naruto stated, Tazuna nodding, "While, if anyone was to look into it, the balls are not exactly heavily publicised, so the results look legitimate..."  
"And the more you race, the more you stick bulletproofing into your equipment," Tazuna offered, "You actually race, you're likely to rack up stigmata with the handful who have held the upper part of the rankings for years, and end up with enough black balls to stock a pool hall, and can't race without trouble unless you cause everyone but the Black Riders to foul out..."  
He then sighed, before adding, "Join them, you'll make a cool several million ryo a week of winnings and marketing Gato does for you, more than enough to make the criminal records you'll rack up, due to the fact the Police know full well who's staging the accidents, disappear..."  
Tazuna paused, hearing the radio.  
"I can see the Kamen Rider coming back under new racing colours. The pool table worth of black balls he earned are nullified by the simple fact he's officially dead..." He mused, "Admittedly, Gato will have him shot dead the moment he figures out how he pulled off that stunt..."  
He then ducked into a shack near the bridge. "I'll let you in on something…. Since you're clearly not an idiot..." Tazuna stated, "Once saw a guy, perfect 10's all round, the Black Balls and all that shit hadn't quite happened yet, Gato hadn't yet got enough influence to do it…"  
"So, the worst thing for Gato's promotion, and the Black Riders were pissed as hell..." Naruto stated, Tazuna nodding.  
"Bike gets accidentally picked up along with the junked ones and crushed. Cost him almost all of his winnings and he got shot by a sniper on his next race." Tazuna sighed, "The really sick thing… Kamen Rider trashed one of the black bikes last race. He'll get charged for that repair job, they won't,"  
When Naruto got back to the garage, he noticed a sheaf of papers in his saddlebag. They were the results for practically all the races in a particular area, Naruto finding the last name of the owner of the store, then Tazuna's son. When Tazuna noticed him find the names, he winced. Naruto could even see the racer from Tazuna's story. Every race, win, win, win, consistently good times.  
Then, a few weeks into a group of names appearing at the top of the lists, Naruto noting each one, 'DNF', and he disappeared off the pages. Tazuna pointed to where his son was marked as 'DNF'.  
"He was part of a group who wanted to, if the races continued, reinstate the old scoring and get rid of the fact that somehow you can get penalized for coming in first place..." Tazuna sighed, "Was doing his third race, had publicly destroyed one of Gato's black balls on live feed shortly before…"  
Tazuna held in the tears that were about to come, as he almost sobbed, "He abruptly span out of control, bike was fine… Him… well, the local coroner got an exception to the rule about something other than a bike on the road… No _recorded_ investigation was done,"  
Naruto winced. This wasn't just a mild case of fraudulent results in races, and deliberate sabotage. He even had evidence that Gato likely assassinated racers… but he couldn't just walk out on this.  
"You keep video of that race?" Naruto asked, for Tazuna to wince, and take out a bullet in a police evidence bag.  
"Here's the bullet the coroner dug out of him. Supposedly, The tapes were 'accidentally wiped' as part of an archiving blunder..." Tazuna stated, before going to a rack of old movies, picking out one with a picture of an egg with a duck bill sticking out of it on the cover, and put it into a battered old VCR.

_The first part was a young man decrying the 'Black Balls', and detailing the fact that no racer got higher than 6th place without getting handed one of these and told to throw their next race, before he took out a gun and shot it, saying that, one day, those who work hard and race hard would always win, while Gato's trained thugs would go back to their rightful places… at the back.  
_ _The next showed a clip of the race, and the first place rider suddenly gaining a neat hole in the back of their suit, as the black rider behind him swerved oddly, their left hand not on the handlebars. Even Naruto could see the glint in his hand as he was swerving, then the lead bike lost control and the clip ended._

Naruto checked the information he'd found, noting the racer who had pulled out a gun got pulled from the races, likely to keep him from being found by the cops, then was back to getting straight first place positions.  
"As I said, no recorded investigation was done..." Tazuna stated, "Got the full evidence write up done by one of the cops the coroners brought in with them, who later found out their brake lines had been cut… They'd left me a copy, suspecting corruption on the force, and told me to keep the bullet..."  
"More likely one of the Black Riders cut the brake lines to keep their investigation information in Wave. There's no doubt that you could have matched that bullet to one of the revolvers they carry round all the time. More than likely the same revolver was thrown and they got a new one." Naruto mused.  
"Here's the fun thing..." Tazuna stated, "The gun was matched to the same gun used in the demonstration, and only had clear prints for him on it. The officer in charge of the investigation suspected it was since the Black Riders all wear thick gloves. They probably took his gun, shot him with it, then put it back in his bike later."

There was then a knocking at the door, Naruto looking out to see a young woman.  
"I'm looking for a partner for a tandem race…" She stated, "Your rider looks acceptable, all I need him to do is avoid the pile ups, and place 9th or 10th …I will try to make up the rest of the points, but we're not trying for 16 points,"  
"What if I want to get podium?" Naruto stated, "I doubt you're a bad racer, if you're so sure of yourself..."  
"Demon Brothers are idiots, but they know their maths. They get 1st place, they've got the grid..." The girl stated.  
"Well, Tell you what... Let's disprove that. I guess you're a straight 1st place racer, right?"Naruto interrupted, the girl nodding but looking worried, "Tazuna, when the Demon Brothers and the pair of snakes are next racing at the same time, me and her here will be taking 1st and 2nd place, 19 points. Believe it!"  
"That's suicide, plus my bike is custom-made, and you're telling me... Great, now I know you've lost your mind..." The girl moaned, before, crossing her arms in anger as she snapped, "Mamba and Cobra will DESTROY our bikes and leave us in the hospital rather than give up their places, and the Demon Brothers too..."  
She looked towards Tazuna, adding, "OK, Now I know you're a dumb punk... Tazuna, take him to the road off the island and tell the border guard to not let him back in. I'm going to go burn up the Central Ring for a few hours to forget someone offered such a dumb idea to me."  
"Does Gato rule this island that well that you're going to blow me off for having a good idea?" Naruto snapped back, looking at her, "How often have you thrown a perfect race just since one of Gato's thug bikers is on the track?"  
The girl froze, turning round. He wasn't an idiot, per se, but actually had a measure of morality.  
"I'll admit it. I've thrown races I could have won with a comfortable margin because of the fact my bike would get trash compacted, if they don't do Cat and Mouse, you against 10 Black Riders, first one to give you a dirt nap wins..." She stated, then sighed, adding, "My bike for other races, not the custom one I take out every few days and never on a black balled race, is onto it's fourth incarnation due to me forgetting to check the grid,"  
"I want you to be honest with me, right now... If you raced, just plain raced... Didn't have all this 'Because we gave you an eight-ball, you've got to slow down or get wrecked next race...' crap... Could you beat any of the Black Riders?" Naruto asked, for the girl to roll her heels slightly and sigh.  
"OK, You win... I'll admit it, but only to you two... I could lap even the fastest of them." she said with a cheeky grin, then looked at them, "Name's Haku Yuki, also known as Yuki-hime or Snow Queen. So, Want me to tell you the truth about what I think of the Demon Brothers and the Tandem Terrors?"  
"Do tell..." Naruto stated, looking curious.  
"I'll only do so, and agree to ignore the threat of the Black Ball if Naruto here can actually race, so you and me, no-one else, then I'll buy us something to eat if you manage to show me some good skills," Haku stated, "If you drive like crap, well, Tazuna can still get you out of here..."  
Naruto nodded and walked over to his new bike; a standard Nodachi with none of the mods normally associated with bikes in this circuit. Tazuna had promised Naruto some mods if he won, but for now it was clean racing. He sat on the seat and revved the engine, listening to the engine purr before nodding to Haku who leapt gracefully onto her own. Tazuna levered himself to his feet and walked to stand between the two.  
"Alright you two. The race is to the last bridge column above the tide and back. On your mark... Get set... GO!" he yelled, swinging his cane down, the two racers gunning it down the badly cracked street. This wasn't a race to win. This was a race of the kind Wave hadn't seen in years...

A race of skill.


End file.
